A Platform Of Several Opportunities
Pitching and matching at the Campus - a look at how the Berlin Today Award contributes to the future of cinema.
Pitching expert Sibylle Kurz coaching a Talent
Among the many workshops, lectures and competitions, the Berlin Today Award Coaching is one of the first events that set the Berlinale Talent Campus on its way. Maria Casas, one of the coordinators of the Berlin Today Award, explained that “the award creates a good opportunity not just for young filmmakers but also for young producers to get together and to make short movies”.
Young filmmakers have to send their applications by mid-October. Their script must fit a specific theme, which is different every year. Although the festival gets a huge amount of submissions (over 150 applications for next year’s edition), only fifteen projects were selected and will be pitched during the Campus. Here, the filmmakers, helped by tutors, will have to pitch their projects to eleven producers in order to convince them to finance the film.
The directors, however, are not the only ones who have to compete, as only five projects are going to be made. The match-making process between producers and directors could be quite frightening, according to directors Kyoko Miyake and Tatiana Villcob, competing for next year’s edition. Sergi Portabella, the Spanish director from THE ASTRONAUT ON THE ROOF, one of the strongest contenders for the Berlin Today Award 2010, thinks that “it's important that both sides get along well”.
Characteristic for the Berlin Today Award is that it is spread out over two editions of the Campus. At one edition, the candidates pitch their projects, at the next, the five winning films are screened, and one of them wins the Award. Moreover, after their premiere at the Campus, a number of short films from the competition travelled to other festivals, as did 2009 winner WAGAH, which went to Sundance this year and won the German Short Film Award. More importantly, rather than creating a rough competitive atmosphere, Berlin Today Award participants tend to help each other, claimed both former and current participants.
“For me it's really a big chance to make a short film”, says Tatiana Villcob. She continues: “I mean, in Colombia, how do I do a short movie? The situation in my country is really tough”. On the other hand, self-trained Japanese Kyoko Miyake confirms that “it might be a turning point, if my project is selected”. Thus, the Berlin Today Award perfectly illustrates what the Campus aspires: It is a multiple platform, which gives young and talented filmmakers a chance to make a short movie; to learn how to manage technical issues and to direct a crew on the set; to create important contacts in the industry; and to experience life at the same time.
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